Tag: feminism

*If anything I say in this post is phrased problematically or is problematic itself, please let me know so I can learn – I strive to be better and do better always when it comes to body politics and intersectional feminism

I devoured the book, finishing it in three sittings. I could have finished it in just one sitting, but I took notes as I read, jotting down my favorite quotes. I took my time because the book was something I needed to experience, not just read.

After thinking about the fact I wear a full face of makeup all the time and wondering what impression that gives to other people (in particular, young girls) – I’ve been leaving the house with a clean face more often. Because that needs to be okay for me to do, so that I can show others that it is okay to do – while simultaneously showing them that it is okay to wear caked on makeup sometimes, too. It’s all okay to do.

And it’s not because I think I’m less of a feminist for wearing makeup – in fact, if anything, the realization that I support choice over all else makes me feel more feminist than ever before.

Let me start off by saying that I am a feminist and I love makeup. I wear makeup because I love it, I think it’s fun, and I like having different colors on my eyelids and lips every day. I don’t think I’m ugly, unattractive, or unworthy without it on, and I do not think that I’m better than anyone who doesn’t wear makeup. I don’t wear makeup because the patriarchy tells me to, but rather because I choose to. And I’m still a feminist because I’m choosing to wear it. Being feminine doesn’t mean I’m not a feminist.

But the other day, my partner’s 13 year old niece asked me to show her how to contour and fill in her eyebrows just after opening up to me about having low self esteem and insecurities. And I panicked. “You don’t need to do any of that” was my response. But I filled her eyebrows in with powder anyway, because that’s what she wanted me to do. She didn’t want to hear my self love mumbo jumbo. No one does at 13.

While I agree with the point I think the post was trying to get at but misses entirely – that body shaming in general is a problem and we as feminists should not be hypocritical about it – the post completely disregards the concept of thin privilege – which is a pretty important point that should be talked about, considering it’s the answer to the author’s question: while body shaming itself is problematic, thin privilege is why it’s less problematic to attack a size 0 and more problematic to attack a size 16. Let’s face it: a size 0 has thin privilege and a size 16 most likely suffers from fatphobia – and that’s the real issue we should try to break down and dismantle, rather than which type of body shaming is considered acceptable/unacceptable.

No type of body shaming should be considered acceptable, and that all begins with destroying thin privilege and fatphobia in our society.